Alan Curtis continues his way through the Handel
canon, this time offering the first version of Radamisto (1720) –
an earlier recording on Harmonia Mundi gave us the revised version dating
from the end of 1720. The two are considerably different, Handel adding
several new arias and a quartet, but the first version is itself replete
with effective music so that the two are worth exploration. Three
exceptional singers in the leading roles add to our considerable pleasure.
Joyce DiDonato in the title role deploys her voice, sailing through the
coloratura, but at the same time bringing out all the emotion in the
deceptively simple lament near the end of the opera. Patrizia Ciofi
(Polissena) as the rejected wife is constantly involved in the drama and a
Catalan newcomer, Maite Beaumont, nearly steals the show as Zenobia. Her
distinctive mezzo, impeccable control in the showpiece arias immediately
earn our applause. Tenor Zachary Stains is too often hard put in both
recitative and aria, rarely going beyond the dutiful. Dominique Labelle
and Laura Cherici are serviceable in their roles while Carlo Lepore leaves
a more positive impression after his single aria. Curtis may
be decried in some circles, but we like his way with
the music, never forcing but constantly aware of the drama.

Daphne, a late Strauss opera handicapped by a libretto that
the composer had difficulty coming to terms with, may finally be coming
into its own, with two new recordings of which the above was submitted for
review, benefiting from the Universal promotion of Renée Fleming who is in
sumptuous form here, with none of the scooping that has marred some of her
recent recordings, and with little of the blues register she sometimes
favors. Semyon Bychkov and his Cologne Radio forces have achieved
symbiosis, so that they are now totally attuned to one another. Michael
Schade and Johan Botha are well-contrasted in the two tenor roles, while
the remaining roles are all cast from strength. Unfortunately, a live
recording from Vienna in 1964 (DGG) – the first commercial release of the
work – has achieved mythic status, with the dedicatee, Karl Böhm,
conducting with far greater urgency than Bychkov, Fritz Wünderlich and
James King unsurpassable as Leukippos and Apollo, and the luxury of Rita
Streich as the First Maid. Hilde Gueden in the title role may lack the
velvet plush of Fleming, but her understanding and ability to convey the
composer’s intentions remain astounding. Böhm sanctions two tiny cuts to
lighten the role of Daphne but that is forgiveable in light of the
results. In short, both recordings are essential as the new version of
course offers incomparable sound, though the earlier is more than
acceptable.

This is the first in a series of recordings of Lully’s music under the
direction of Hugo Reyne to come my way, and what immediately strikes the
listener is the vivacity communicated by the participants, recorded during
a concert. As we know, the title characters in Lully’s operas are equal
participants with the other performers, the divertissements given equal
time, so that evenness of casting is essential. The presence of Françoise
Masset, Guillemette Laurens, Howard Crook and Bernard Deletré,
participants since the 1980s in many a Baroque production, is a useful
link to the recent past, their example followed by the younger
participants. It is amazing how clear is the diction, almost entirely
comprehensible without following the libretto. But it is Reyne who clearly
inspires his forces to function at 150 %, to the benefit of this music
that can sometimes seem dry in a too dutiful approach.

Opera Rara has lost its co-founder Patric Schmid who died late in 2005
(Don White died a few years earlier), but we are grateful that the work is
continuing, with a full schedule for 2006, perhaps the best memorial to
someone who had an idea some twenty years ago and made it work. We have
had first performances of several operas by Donizetti, investigations of
such neglected composers as Pacini, Mercadante, Mayr and the Italian works
of Meyerbeer, not to mention the albums of 19th century salon music that
have shown us that music – as in the German-speaking countries – was also
performed in private homes for domestic consumption. George Loomis’s
excellent notes point out that the term "notturno" should not be given its
Chopinian connotation but a late 18th century meaning as chamber music for
the late evening, in this case for singers and piano. Six duets by
Donizetti form the nucleus, taken from the set Nuits d’Eté à
Pausilippe/Notte d’estate a Posillipo. Antoine Palloc is a worthy
replacement for David Harper on this occasion, but he has been Jennifer
Larmore’s collaborator for several years and is thus familiar with some of
this repertory. Bruce Ford and Paul Austin Kelly are other Opera Rara
stalwarts who can do no wrong here, Kelly’s lyricism and Ford’s drama
offering strong contrasts, while Alastair Miles provides a rumbling bass
in four numbers. Patrizia Biccirè sounds in better voice here than as a
comprimario in the recent Pia de Tolomei, but it is Larmore who has the
lion’s share which she carries off with her usual panache. A trio by
Manuel Garcia for Larmore and the two tenors is a marvel, using the first
bit of "La ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni as its theme which
is then embroidered in intricate patterns as the three voices are
interwoven. Two of the Donizetti items make use of material from
Pia, "L’amante Spagnuolo" showing how reworking or adapting a
piece of music can result in an exhilarating solo, but I somehow have the
feeling that there is another source that I have not yet identified.
Rossini’s Amants de Séville has been a favorite for many years,
since I first acquired a Nonesuch album of the composer’s piano and vocal
music sometime in the 1960s. But even the minor composers come off well,
while Verdi’s trio with flute obbligato or Bellini’s Ricordanza
maintain the high musical standards.

Essential Opera Rara is a collection of Highlights recordings of works
that one will otherwise never encounter, though in the present instance a
duet was recorded for the third volume of A Century of Italian Opera
1820-1830, later reissued in Meyerbeer in Italy (ORR 222).
The cd is most exhilarating as our low expectations – conditioned by years
of disparagement – are constantly confounded. Meyerbeer reveled in spatial
effects, whether offstage voices or even brass bands, while his way of
using vocal conventions regularly surprises us. Taking a standard plot of
the time (ousted king returns home to find his daughter about to marry the
usurper, plot to kill said usurper discovered, final pardon so that all
ends happily with magnificent rondo finale for the contralto hero),
Meyerbeer weaves his personal brand of magic to which this listener is
highly susceptible. Manuela Custer as the hero, Almanzor, may not have the
aplomb of a Horne or Valentini-Terrani, but all the notes are there even
though the voice is several shades too light. Laura Claycomb’s light
soprano shines through the filigree. Mirco Palazzi may not have the
elegance of Alastair Miles in the extract mentioned above but his voice
has a distinct presence. Paul Austin Kelly as the villain has less to do,
as is usual for tenors who are not lovers, but makes the most of his
interjections. But it is the composer who is once again shown to be more
than just a purveyor of effects, whether the solo harp for the soprano’s
aria, two solo cellos in the introduction to her second aria, not to
mention other unusual instrumental solos or combinations. Once again,
Opera Rara’s accompanying text features a lengthy essay by George Loomis
and the text of the entire opera so that we can easily place the
highlights in context.

It is no longer necessary to introduce Giovanni Pacini or Saverio
Mercadante to fans of 19th century Italian opera. Opera Rara have largely
contributed to our ever-increasing knowledge and acquaintance with these
two composers whose careers overlapped those of Rossini and Verdi, by whom
their reputations have been eclipsed. The selections chosen for this cd
range from 1821 for both composers to 1848 for Pacini and 1866 for
Mercadante, allowing us to appreciate their distinctive qualities while
not dissimulating the occasional moment of pure convention, something as
easily found in the works of those composers – Rossini, Bellini,
Donizetti, even Verdi – whose reputations have survived since their operas
were composed. Once again, Jeremy Commons provides a fund of information
in the accompanying material. Mercadante seems more willing to
provide the occasional quiet moment in the midst of a large finale,
whether duet (Andronico) or trio (I Normanni), that
compels the listener to pay attention, but he can also knock you over with
a rousing trio finale to a first act (Virginia). An all male quartet from
Leonora is worthy of Verdi, with its suffocating baritone line, lyric
tenor and two muttering basses. At the same time, in an alternative aria
for Elena da Feltre he can dazzle the singer and audience with
fireworks during a cabaletta. Pacini can also astonish us with pre-echoes
of Verdi in a work common to both composers, Il corsaro, or a trio with an
amazing slow section with accompaniment largely limited to harp and
clarinet from Stella di Napoli, or extensive use of the banda in
Il contestabile di Chester. A trio from Cesare in Egitto
is in fact a soprano solo with two tenors providing the underpinning while
Cleopatra performs vocal variations on a theme. The aria finale of
Alan Cameron is interesting for its use of chorus, aria and slow
cabaletta, an idea borrowed from Donizetti. The Opera Rara house singers
are all in excellent form to defend the colors of Mercadante and Pacini.
Most of the selections devoted to the latter feature the lighter soprano
of Annick Massis, while Majella Cullagh has the heft required by
Mercadante. Laura Polverelli has been a personal favorite since her
Armida Abandonnata (recently reissued), with her full-bodied
mezzo. Bruce Ford occasionally emits a strange vowel sound, but there are
few tenors today who can bring as much conviction to this music, while
Kenneth Tarver’s rapid vibrato needs a bit of taming for the microphone.
Alan Opie may not be the most elegant of singers, but he is an improvement
over some of the Italian baritones who have been featured in recent Opera
Rara releases. The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Geoffrey Mitchell
Choir respond with quicksilver accuracy to David Parry, making this one of
the most enjoyable CDs to have come my way this year.

Rolando Villazón’s third operatic recital is a
potpourri, showing off the tenor’s command of four languages during the
course of an hour. His proficiency in Italian and French has long been
taken for granted, with the usual comment on his not-quite perfect French,
though much better than that of some of his seniors. His German (arias
from Flotow’s Martha and Alessandro Stradella) is
surprisingly fluent, though the Russian of Lensky’s aria does not sound
entirely convincing. What remains striking is the brightness of the sound
at any dynamic level, the enthusiasm and at the same time an occasional
reluctance to sing pianissimo high notes when called for (Carmen,
Ernesto’s Serenade from Don Pasquale). There are some clear cases
of over-miking to give the voice more heft (the Ivanoff interpolated aria
from Ernani, Hoffmann) but generally the balance seems right,
under the sure-handed control of Michel Plasson and the Munich Radio
Orchestra. Curiously, an aria from La Favorite is sung in the
now-discredited Italian translation rather than the original French, but
the high notes nonetheless ring out securely. Selections from Tosca,
Fedora, Cavalleria Rusticana and Ballo in Maschera suggest
future paths for the singer, while the tenor aria from
Rosenkavalier
offers much
entertainment value.